Don't Sweat the Small Stuff : Moms - Book Review

You may already be familiar with the don’t sweat the small stuff series. Dr. Richard Carlson’s book Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff… and It’s All Small Stuff was and still is a popular best seller. After Richard Carlson’s sudden death, his wife - Kristine Carlson - continued to add to this well sought after series. There are now more than ten books in the collection.

These books are easy to read guidebooks for living written in essay form. In Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms, Kristine Carlson begins with a chapter titled “There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Perfect’ Mom” where she begins to show mothers the perfection in imperfection. Our imperfections help us provide teaching moments for our children. When we lose our patience, for example, we have an opportunity to apologize and to take responsibility for actions we are not proud of.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms is a small, brightly colored book that is easy to carry in your purse. It is a great book to take out while you are waiting in the car pool line, at a doctor’s office, or during those last few minutes before your children return home from school.

Kristine Carlson writes in a way that makes you feel as though you are having a conversation with her. She speaks with gentle words, humor, and situational experiences that make you feel normal in the world of motherhood.

This is not a book that I picked up and devoured at once. It was not an igniting and exciting book but a book filled with common sense dialogue – common sense that mothers often need to be reminded about. Each chapter embraces another topic on keeping motherhood simple.

From gardens to breathing and bullying to homework – Carlson covers it all. Any question, any challenge, any mothering issue that might make you pause – she will show you how to bring it back to a place of ease and focus on what is truly important.

One of the chapters I was particularly fond of was the one titled “Power With Your Passion”. Carlson begins this chapter by sharing that her happiest moments throughout motherhood are when she is holding her family close but also nourishing her own soul. Throughout the book, she stresses the important responsibility moms have in the arena of self-care.

At the root of simplicity, peace, and managing motherhood lies our commitment to our own self. Kristine Carlson lights up motherhood with attitude, intention, and consciousness. With one hundred topics to choose from, you will certainly find something that speaks to you and propels you to transform your mothering experiences.